The self-proclaimed “Front Page of the Internet”, otherwise known as Reddit, has been undergoing significant change in the past several months. Most recently, the once and current CEO of the website, Steve Huffman, announced his plans to cull the website to eliminate the unsavory parts that, “should not be [on Reddit] at all.” Is Reddit’s content at risk of heavy censorship?
Why the content on Reddit is being purged?
Reddit is an internet community made up of millions from around the world. As many people go to this site for news as they do for entertainment. It is made up of various ‘subreddits’ created by users covering every topic one could imagine–and many more. Some of these subreddits are created for and dedicated to topics ranging from what is new in video gaming to questions users have about world history to upcoming local events for small towns.
Being one of the largest websites on the internet with over 36 million constant users and an average of 169 million unique views monthly, there are bound to be some issues with Reddit’s content and users that refuse to submit to what many might call ‘social norms’. Because the website allows users to create their own subreddits for any topic imaginable, some of these subreddits are notably in rather poor taste. Often offending people or even teetering on the verge of legality, that handful of subreddits are the source of all of this controversy.
Huffman, who also co-founded the website back in 2005, says that “the overwhelming majority of content on Reddit comes from wonderful, creative, funny, smart, and silly communities. That is what makes Reddit great. There is also a dark side, communities whose purpose is reprehensible, and we don’t have any obligation to support them. And we also believe that some communities currently on the platform should not be here at all.”
Reddit’s Previous Controversy
The previous CEO of the website, Ellen Pao, resigned within the past week due to a petition to have her removed from the site that reigned in over 213,000 signatures. This call for Pao’s termination was due to the firing of the sites beloved director of Talent, Victoria Taylor. On top of this, Pao had five subreddits deleted because of questionable content and the moderators’ lack of addressing the harassment of individuals. This caused many moderators of the site to go on strike and refuse to moderate content.
The Current Situation
Steve Huffman has stepped up and claimed the position of CEO for the time-being. He states that he hadn’t founded the site back in 2005, “to be a bastion of free speech, but rather as a place where open and honest discussion can happen.” Huffman told of his plans to reduce the ‘dark side’ of Reddit even more in the coming months. New reports are saying that the board of directors of Reddit were pushing Ellen Pao to take more action to censor content on the site, but she was what was standing against them. Unfortunately, Reddit users didn’t know the whole situation and lashed out at the first person who they could blame, getting rid of one of the people who supported them on the very event they were upset about: unfair censorship of Reddit’s content.
Steve Huffman will be holding an AMA (ask me anything) session on the site on Thursday, July 16th where users will be able to voice their opinions, ask questions, and learn more information about the plans to purge Reddit’s content of illicit material.
Could this be the end of one of the largest and most visited websites on the internet? Well, that remains to be seen.
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